


Smile For Me

by shirosquared



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: ?? - Freeform, M/M, Major Character Injury, Self-Esteem Issues, aka my writing has improved, rewrite of season 2 ending, shiro exists, this was an old fic, uhhh what did i tag this as, yeah let's go with that
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-27
Updated: 2017-01-27
Packaged: 2018-12-21 20:43:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,957
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11952270
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/shirosquared/pseuds/shirosquared
Summary: In which Lance doesn't know his self worth and the others try to cheer him up.





	Smile For Me

Lance never expected things to turn out the way they did. He had expected Keith to say no, to leave him alone, or to call him disgusting... something.   
  
_ They were fighting Zarkon on the other side of the teludav, ready to defeat him once and for all. _ __   
__   
_ However, several things went wrong at once. Haggar fired the komar again, immobilizing Voltron as well as knocking the paladins unconscious a second time at the same time that Zarkon's suit charged at them. _ __   
__   
_ "Paladins!" Allura shouted over the microphone, desperate for a response. _ __   
__   
_ What happened instead, was a shock to them all. Out of the immobilized Voltron came Lance in his armor suit, looking dazed from the blast but determined. _ __   
__   
_ The communications line had been severed, leaving Allura shouting into it as she tried to figure out what was going on. _ __   
__   
_ "Come on, girl," Lance mumbled to Blue, feeling dismay when the eyes didn't flare up. He powered his jetpack and started trying to push the massive robot out of the way. Just before Zarkon reached them, Lance managed to get enough force and Voltron floated away from them. _ __   
__   
_ He wasn't able to move in time, taking the full force of Zarkon's attack. He let out a cry as he was knocked backwards, the comms coming back online. However, without Lance to pilot Voltron's right leg, the lions were forced apart as the paladins woke up. _ __   
__   
_ "Lance!" they all cried, looking around to see what had happened. _ __   
__   
_ Lance was floating in space, unconscious if the position of his limbs was anything to go by. _ __   
__   
_ "We have to get him back to the castle!" Keith said, piloting the red lion over to Lance and grabbing him in the mouth, flying back to where the castle was. Shiro tugged the blue lion along with Keith, leaving Pidge and Hunk alone against Zarkon. _ __   
__   
_ "Hunk, you take the left side! I'll take the right!" Pidge called, before darting off to Zarkon's right side. _ __   
__   
_ "Got it!" Hunk responded, going to the left. _ __   
__   
_ Meanwhile, inside the castle, Keith had Lance in his arms and was rushing him up to the command area, where they had the healing chambers. Keith was alarmed to see how damaged Lance's armor was, wondering if the blue paladin was also suffering from a lack of oxygen.  _ __   
__   
_ Surprisingly, Lance started to stir, looking up at Keith with fogged eyes. "Have you ever been told that you're cute...?" he mumbled. Keith wondered if Lance was delirious, but managed to get the armor off of Lance after he slipped back into unconsciousness. _ __   
__   
_ Keith and Shiro got Lance into the chamber before rushing back into the fight, their motives even greater now that another one of them had gotten nearly killed by Zarkon.  _ __   
__   
_ "Alright, Team Voltron!" Shiro called. "We can do this! Lance protected us, and now we need to pay him back by defeating Zarkon!" _ __   
__   
_ Pidge grinned. "What's the plan, Shiro? We've got four lions, we could try surrounding him." _ __   
__   
_ "Or, we could... y'know, form Voltron?" Lance's voice came through the comms a bit strained, but the blue lion was seen flying towards them. _ __   
__   
_ "Lance, you should be resting," Shiro responded. "You're already injured." _ __   
__   
_ "You guys are... too serious without me." _ __   
__   
_ "Lance, really, you sound like you're about to pass out," Pidge said. _ __   
__   
_ "C'mon guys, we gotta help... Keith bond with these alien dudes. His eyes are purple... is that the same as him having Galra skin?" _ __   
__   
_ Keith groaned. "Are you serious? This isn't the time for this!" _ __   
__   
_ "Uh, guys? I don't mean to interrupt, but he's kinda coming straight for us," Hunk cut in, the yellow lion darting out of the way. The others followed suit, ending up close together.  _ __   
__   
_ "Form Voltron!" Shiro commanded, despite his best interests to get Lance back to the castle. The lions started to transform and fit together, quickly forming a large robot.  _ __   
__   
_ "Form sword!" Keith put his bayard into the slot and twisted it, Voltron's two arms coming together and producing a long sword. _ __   
__   
_ "Pidge, form shield!" Pidge pressed a few buttons and the two wings from the back came around to form a translucent blue shield. _ __   
__   
_ They then clashed with Zarkon, each of them giving it everything they had. Shiro, having already retrieved his bayard, put it in the slot and twisted it. To his shock, the sword they had turned into a flaming sword. They were knocked backwards but Lance and Hunk put full power on the thrusters to stop them, then in the other direction to give them extra speed. _ __   
__   
_ The flaming sword pierced through Zarkon's armour, effectively ending him. The five paladins cheered along with Allura and Coran, but Lance could feel sleep tugging at him. He felt so exhausted... _ __   
__   
_ He coughed weakly, and the cheers died as everyone remembered what Lance had done. "Hey, Keith..." he murmured, all of them having gone silent to listen, "if I end up surviving... you'll go out with me, right?" _ __   
__   
_ "What?" Keith was shocked. "First off, you're not dying. We're going to get you back to get you healed. Just hang in there, alright? Lance?" _ __   
__   
_ After the silence from Lance, the team jumped into action, quickly moving the blue lion into the hangar. Keith climbed up on top to get Lance out, pulling out an unconscious, unarmoured brown-haired boy who had bruises and a few cuts littering his body. _ __   
__   
_ Keith carried him to the chamber again, putting him inside and watching it shut.  _   
  
After what had happened, it had taken Lance a few days to heal completely - most of them were spent with Keith, who wanted answers, at his side.   
  
Without Lance there, everything seemed so... quiet. It wasn't a good quiet, either. The team had mostly stopped talking to each other unless it was necessary, and Keith hardly spoke at all. Barely any jokes were made, and a solemn mood had set over them all.   
  
By the time Lance was set to be released from the chamber, everyone was waiting outside. They didn't crowd him, but they were there, catching him when he fell forward into their arms.   
  
Lance smiled to himself.  _ Maybe I was actually useful for once... _   
  
"Lance? What do you mean?" Shiro asked, confused.  _ I said that out loud, didn't I? _   
  
"Yes, you did. Why would you think that you aren't useful?"   
  
Lance looked around at everyone there. "I... this was supposed to be a happy moment, right? Can't we talk about this later?"  _ Or never would be best. _   
  
"We should talk," Keith added.   
  
"There can't be any secrets between you," Allura said, before realizing something. "Perhaps... this will serve as a refresher to your strengths rather than your weaknesses." She led them up to the main control room before heading for the centre of the room where the pedestals were, the others watching her curiously.   
  
She closed her eyes before opening them, the coordinates expanding out around them just like it had on that first day. This time, however, all five of the lions were in the same location. Nobody interrupted her, letting her do what she was going to do.   
  
"The Black Lion is the decisive head of Voltron. It will take a pilot who is a born leader and in control at all times, someone whose men will follow without hesitation. This is why Shiro is the pilot of the Black Lion."   
  
They still looked confused, but Allura continued. "The Green Lion has an inquisitive personality, and needs a pilot of intellect and daring. This is why Pidge is the pilot of the Green Lion."   
  
"The Yellow Lion is caring and kind," she continued, the holograms moving around to each person as she spoke. "Its pilot is one who puts the needs of others above his own. His heart must be mighty. As a leg of Voltron, you will lift the team up and hold them together. This is why Hunk is the pilot of the Yellow Lion."   
  
"What's she doing?" Pidge whispered to Hunk, but only received a shrug in response.   
  
Still, Allura continued. "The Red Lion is temperamental and the most difficult to master. It's faster and more agile than the others, but also more unstable. Its pilot needs to be someone who relies more on instincts than skill alone. This is why Keith is the pilot of the Red Lion."   
  
"The Blue Lion," Allura said, looking at Lance, "is the most accepting of all the lions, but also the most loyal. Its pilot is someone who is kind at heart, accepting all and embracing it. Someone who does everything they can to help others... if even at the cost of their own self. As a leg of Voltron, you will lift the team up and hold them together. This is why you, Lance, are the pilot of the Blue Lion."   
  
Lance was at a loss for words. "I..."   
  
"Not to mention that you're our Sharpshooter," Shiro didn't hesitate to add, staying where he was so that he didn't crowd Lance.   
  
"Hey, Lance," Pidge said, causing him to look over. "We defeated Zarkon. We get to go home... you can see your other family." She smiled at him.    
  
"Yeah, and we can spend real time together on Earth, having movie nights and Keith burns the popcorn, so we just order something instead," Hunk said.    
  
"And, uh..." Lance turned to Keith, looking surprised. Was Keith  _ nervous _ ? The guy always seemed so cool and collected most of the time, usually the other times was when he got really upset and snapped. "I don't know if you actually think this, but I don't hate you. I heard what you said... twice."   
  
"Twice?" Lance asked.  _ What is he doing? I didn't think I'd actually survive so I just wanted to get it out but I'm not ready! _ "Um... look, I wasn't lying. I get if you want to hate me or whatever, that's fine."  _ Nothing I'm not used to. _   
  
Keith shook his head, seeming frustrated. "No, I just said I don't hate you. And yes, twice, although I think you were... not awake when you said it the first time?"   
  
"So..." Lance prompted, a bit anxiously. Sure he'd flirted and it led to things, but that was usually with girls. He'd never actually asked out a guy before.    
  
Keith took two steps forward, and Lance almost took a step back, but stopped himself as Keith rested his forehead against Lance's. "Were you asking for something like this?" he asked quietly, causing Lance's face to heat up.    
  
"I uh... t-thought you'd just b-brush it off.." Lance stammered.   
  
"Why would I?" Keith responded.   
  
"Because y-you've done so much and I'm just... me, you know? And I wish it wasn't you that I was admitting to because then I could pretend like I knew what I was doing and then just brush it off when I get turned down and-"   
  
Keith leaned forward and kissed Lance, which was enough to shock the Cuban boy into silence.   
  
"Stop," Keith told him. "Stop bringing yourself down. You  _ are _ important. When you were out, we were all falling apart. We didn't know what we would do if you..."   
  
Lance looked at the others and saw their smiles - they weren't forced, they weren't just there to appease him. They were genuine, kind smiles, ones that he saw very rarely. He looked at Keith and only saw worry. "Hey, Kee," he said jokingly.   
  
"Since when do you call me  _ Kee _ ?" Keith asked, barely hiding his surprise.   
  
"Since now," Lance answered, looking at him. "Smile for me, why don't you? You're too serious."   
  
"What?" Keith seemed shocked that  __ that was what Lance wanted him to do. He then laughed quietly, a smile gracing his face. "Why don't you kiss me and we'll see?" he asked jokingly.   
  
Lance happily complied.

**Author's Note:**

> Despite the fact that I made up the Blue Lion traits, I tried to be accurate but obviously I'm not correct as there is nothing confirmed. With that in mind, I hope you enjoyed it! :)

**Works inspired by this one:**

  * [Self Sacrificing Idiot](https://archiveofourown.org/works/11942598) by [spinsters_grave](https://archiveofourown.org/users/spinsters_grave/pseuds/spinsters_grave)




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